The Ones That Didn't Make It Back Home
by hdente85
Summary: Elizabeth is married to a Marine Corps who gets killed and she must move on with her life one step at a time. All characters and copyright go to Crown Media, LLC and Hallmark Channel.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters within this story or of When Calls the Heart.  
All rights and copyright go to Crown Media and Hallmark Channel.**_

**Chapter 1 – The Yellow Ribbon**

It was a beautiful, sunny, cool fall morning. Elizabeth drank her coffee on the front porch of her house and thought back to the happy memory that took place almost exactly a year ago – their wedding.

_1 year ago…_

Charles and Elizabeth had grown up together and were never apart. They played together, attended school together, went to college together – the pair was inseparable. It was no surprise after graduating college at 22 years of age that the two quickly became engaged. Both families were ecstatic, to say the least. The wedding was planned quickly due to Charles being in the military. He knew after graduating from college that he wanted to join the Marine Corps. It was his calling. He also knew he wanted to be married to Elizabeth and not waste any time in doing so. The wedding was elaborate and beautiful, to say the least. The Thatcher family spared no expense with their middle daughter and their new son-in-law. The same went with the Kensington family as well.

Within six months of being married, Charles received his deployment orders and was ordered to report by the end of the month to the Marine Corps Base in Kāne'ohe Bay, Hawaii. Charles was devastated to leave Elizabeth so early on in their marriage but knew this was what he signed up for – to protect the country that he loved. By the end of the week, Charles flew out to Hawaii and was then flown to the Marine Corps Base in the Nawa-I-Barakzayi District in Afghanistan.

Elizabeth hated to see Charles go but knew his loyalty to the military wouldn't be questioned. She knew she would have to push on without him and wait for him to come home to her to continue their life together, however long it would take.

_Back to the present…_

To say Elizabeth was excited was putting it mildly. She was overjoyed! Charles had skyped Elizabeth last night and informed her that he would be returning back to the United States within the next 2-3 months. Both would finally be together again and could continue on with their life together.

_3 months later…_

Elizabeth was busy getting everything ready for Charles' return back home. She had decided on throwing him a backyard bbq with their families and close friends around them to celebrate his return. She was so happy to see him…it had been close to almost two years since he had been deployed. She wondered how they would ever get back to the closeness they had before he had left, but put the thought out of her mind. She had decided a few days ago to visit her grandma to get her recipe for her delicious green bean casserole – it was one of Charles' favorites that she knew he would love. She checked the clock once more above the stove in the kitchen – 11:37 am. Charles would be arriving sometime around 5:00 pm.

_1:52 pm…_

Elizabeth was still a busy body in the kitchen, trying to get things right for Charles' bbq when she heard a knock on the door. Confused, she wondered who it could be since her family and close friends weren't expected to arrive til almost 4:00 pm.

She walked to the front door and her heart sank as she saw what was on the other side of the front door upon opening it. A lump formed in her throat and she was unable to speak. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. This had to be a dream, she told herself. She knew she had to be dreaming; she just had to wake up.

_1:54 pm…_

"Are you Mrs. Elizabeth Grace Kensington?" The man spoke as Elizabeth stood in the doorway of her home.

Just outside the front door stood two officers both dressed in the formal uniform of the Marine Corps, the Service Alpha uniform. One officer was a field-grade officer and the other officer was a chaplain.

With tears running down her cheeks and unable to speak, Elizabeth just slowly nodded in response to the man's question.

The field-grade officer spoke. "The commandant of the Marine Corps has entrusted me to express his deep regret that your husband, Charles Michael Kensington was killed in action in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday, June 25th. Your husband was with a group of Marine Corps coming back from patrol when his unit was ambushed. Your husband died saving the life of his unit's commander, Bill Avery. Due to this act of valor, your husband will receive the Medal of Honor, posthumous. The commandant extends his deepest sympathy to you and your family in your loss."

The two officers stayed with Elizabeth while she waited on her parents and Charles' parents to arrive, both learning the fate of Charles and his untimely death.

_2 days later…_

Everything that happened after Charles' death was a blur to Elizabeth. She barely ate, barely slept and barely said anything.

After the officers left, her parents and Charles' parents were left to mourn. The Marine Corps would take care of all the funeral details, graveside service and more but to Elizabeth, she just wanted Charles home with her.

At night time, sleep never came easy for her. She would lay awake, thinking back to the times when they were first married. The laughter, the jokes – everything reminded her of Charles. At least in her dreams, she was able to see him and be with him.

_The next day…_

Charles' funeral was today and Elizabeth didn't want to go. She didn't want to be in a constant state of reminders that made her heartache. She didn't want to deal with the people who told her how sorry they were to hear of Charles. None of them could bring Charles back.

Since Elizabeth and Charles were raised and lived in a small town, the town shut down for Charles' funeral. People from all over the town attended. The town got together in a small white church and sung Amazing Grace, watched a slideshow of photos of his 24 years of life and listened to the preacher talk about sacrifice. Afterward, the black Cadillac slowly rolled down the street to the small family cemetery of the Kensington family.

Again, everything that happened during Charles' funeral was a blur to Elizabeth. She wasn't too sure how she would go on without Charles being by her side in life but knew he would want her to be happy. Charles would always hold that spot in her heart, regardless of anyone else in her life.

_6 months later…_

Elizabeth had gathered the strength to slowly continue on with her life without Charles. It was hard at first, she would admit. Everything and everyone reminded her of Charles and their brief life together. She would see young couples at the grocery store, shopping or holding hands in the park and it tore her heart to pieces early on, knowing he wouldn't be here with her any longer.

Elizabeth had decided to find a job to keep a steady income. While in college, she had received her degree in art and decided to put her degree to work. She was lucky while Charles was home and in the military, she didn't have to work. She also received a pension each month from the Marine Corps for Charles' death, which helped. She taught art classes at the local high school in the evenings. She loved art – whether it was painting, drawing, pottery. You named it and she excelled in it.

It was a Saturday and her day off. Elizabeth was in the kitchen baking a loaf of bread when she heard a knock on the door. Unsure of whom it was, she slowly walked to the door and gasped as she saw the shadow on the other side. It was a man dressed in a Marine Corps uniform.

She took a deep breath, opening the door slowly. The man stood before her dressed in a Marine Corps uniform – a polished white hat with black brim, a black military uniform with red outlines and many medals tacked pinned on above the left chest pocket, a white sash across the stomach with a Marine Corp gold logo and crisp, white pants with black shiny shoes. She noticed he was a young man, probably the same age as Charles.

Nervous and unable to find her voice, she replied, "Yes?" Her voice was shaky.

Under the brim of the white hat, Elizabeth saw a set of piercing blue eyes that reminded her of the deep depths of the ocean. The eyes were soft as he responded, removing his white hat and placing it under his left arm.

"Yes ma'am, I am looking for Mrs. Elizabeth Kensington, wife of Charles Kensington. Are you her?"

As the scene played out before her, she was reminded once again of the notification by the two officers from six months ago of Charles' death. The reminder was like a punch in the gut and two steps back to where she had been. Who was this man? And why was he here asking for her?

The officer could see his question had hit a nerve – an all too familiar nerve in the Marine Corps.

"Maybe I should explain myself. My name is Colonel Jack Thornton. Your husband, Charles, was in my unit. I'm terribly sorry about his death, ma'am. You see, I just arrived back in the United States last night from Afghanistan and I wanted to drop by and give you this note that Charles had given me. He gave it to me a few days before he was killed in action. He told me to make sure you received it if anything should happen to him and he wasn't able to make it back to you."

Colonel Thornton held out a crisp, white envelope with the name "Elizabeth" written in black ink in cursive. She knew it was Charles' handwriting. He always had such beautiful penmanship. A small smile formed on Elizabeth's lips as she looked at the envelope. She ran her fingers over the writing of her name, hoping for it to bring more closure for her in Charles' death.

"I'll leave you to read the letter alone. Please, if you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me. Trust me when I say, I know what you are going through." Colonel Thornton handed her a small piece of paper with his name and contact information on it.

Elizabeth thanked the Colonel, bidding him farewell and closed the door to her house. She released the breath she was holding and placed the card on the end table in the foyer, deciding to wait to read it. She returned to her baking, not wanting to get lost again in the heartbreaking reminder of the death of Charles.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Healing**

As Elizabeth tried to concentrate on baking and baking only, the envelope kept pushing its way to the front of her mind. She was apprehensive to know what the letter said. Her heart raced as she thought more and more about it.

After trying to push the thought out of her mind, she slammed the rolling pin down on the counter, flour falling to the floor and on her blouse, and ran and grabbed the envelope sitting on the end table in the foyer. She took a deep breath and ripped open the envelope.

As small pieces of the shredded envelope fell on the floor, her eyes filled with tears as she read his handwritten letter to her from months ago.

_ My dearest Elizabeth…_

_ If you are reading this, then you know I will not be coming back home to you.  
It breaks my heart to write you this letter, but being in the military, it needs to be wrote.  
Each day over here is a day of unknowable terror. Going out on patrol scares me.  
Each day there are causalities and we never know if our turn may come._

_ I want you to know how much I love you, Elizabeth. I will be forever grateful to  
you for your love and support over the years. If I don't make it back home to you,  
I pray you are able to find love again soon. Please open your heart to another  
man, let him in to see the love you have to offer as you have showed me. I pray you  
will find peace in my passing, if that time should come. Again, I love you and I will  
always watch over you Elizabeth._

_ Until we meet again,_

_ With unbound love,  
Charles_

Elizabeth cried and cried and cried. She honestly didn't know how she had any tears left to shed. The love of her life was gone forever and was never coming back to her. She knew before reading his letter that she would have to move on from Charles. She would eventually have to open her heart again to another man, a stranger. The thought scared her. How would she find someone so loving as Charles? Someone who cared so much about her? Someone who knew every little thing about her, every intimate thing? She knew it would take quite a bit of time before she was ready to move on.

Elizabeth knew it would be difficult to move on, but knew she had to try – for Charles.


End file.
